Business Architect

Nobody better understands how all the key elements within an organization work together to define the enterprise. The business architect needs the right tools to see and understand these relationships, in order to help the organization more effectively connect its strategies with the operation of the business, and with the planned evolution and transformation of that business.

KEY CHALLENGES:

• A failure to clearly define and communicate business strategy. Unless the entire organization understands the strategic priorities and how they are intended to be achieved, there will be a lack of focus which will make it impossible for business architects to enable alignment of all organizational elements. This also requires alignment between business architecture and related, but distinct, enterprise architecture tools. If that alignment is missing, it is likely to compound challenges around business strategy.

• The existence of operational siloes within the business. Historic approaches to strategic planning have encouraged the persistence of departmental and functional siloes, allowing business units to operate with considerable autonomy and failing to force alignment with organizational priorities. Those siloes act as barriers to effective business architecture and prevent the synergy that can be created by effective organization-wide integration of all architectural elements.

• The absence of a strong partnership between business and IT functions. Business architecture is a whole enterprise discipline, not an IT function. However, its elements require the effective use of technology across all business areas and with a business context.  Unless IT is viewed (by IT and business leaders) as an extension of the business, that will never be achieved.